1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical needles, and more particularly to an Advanced Biopsy Needle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Biopsy needles are commonly used to retrieve tissue, fluids, or other bodily samples for testing. Fine needle aspiration, for example, is a procedure where a needle is passed through the skin into areas of concern such as cysts, nodules, internal organs or other masses. The sample of fluids and/or cells is then aspirated through the needle into a syringe or similar collection device. The sample of cells then undergoes a cytology exam or perhaps a histology exam should tissue be collected along with the aspirated cells. Another common biopsy procedure is a core needle biopsy where a larger, hollow needle is used to remove cores of tissue from the area of concern. A core biopsy at times involves multiple insertions to ensure that adequate tissue samples are collected for a histology exam. While there are other biopsy procedures, fine needle aspiration and core needle biopsy are the most common, and at times both procedures are used on a patient.
What is therefore needed and beneficial is a biopsy needle that provides both fine needle aspiration and core biopsy with a single insertion, thus reducing trauma and pain to the patient. What is also needed is a biopsy needle that provides superior tissue retrieval and sampling with a single insertion.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an Advanced Biopsy Needle. While the Advanced Biopsy Needle comprises an inner and outer needle, the term Advanced Biopsy Needle refers to both needles and the novel coaxial arrangement of the inner aspiration needle and the outer core needle. These and other objects of the present invention are not to be considered comprehensive or exhaustive, but rather, exemplary of objects that may be ascertained after reading this specification with the accompanying drawings and claims.